Responding to a challenge delivered by Gov. Sarah Palin in early December to get on with what they were charged to do, and a concern that problems in Canada — illustrated by difficulties with the Mackenzie gas pipeline — could indefinitely delay a pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope Lower 48 markets, the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority is looking at a project to bring ANS gas to Alaska markets, and to Valdez for sale as LNG.
At its Jan. 29 board meeting, ANGDA adopted a proposal asking for $5 million for project definition work for the Alaska Gas Market System.
AGMS would take 1.25 billion cubic feet a day of ANS gas south, 0.25 bcf a day to in-state markets at the Yukon River, in Fairbanks and in Southcentral, and 1 bcf a day to Valdez for liquefied natural gas.
“The AGMS project proposal is intended to be advanced simultaneously with other efforts,” ANGDA Chief Executive Officer Harold Heinze said in a Jan. 29 memo to ANGDA board members. ANGDA would work cooperatively and non-exclusively with “all interested experienced parties” in a process which would lead to project definition and an open season, he said.
Heinze said AGMS would initially deliver 0.25 bcf per day of gas to Fairbanks and Cook Inlet. The project would then add a pipeline to serve a single-LNG train in Valdez for gas export and natural gas liquids separation at several locations, upping shipment on the line to 0.75 bcf. Compressors would then be added to serv
